Citation:

Cormier, S. WQX User Call: U.S. EPA Freshwater Explorer. WQX Monthly Conference Call, Virtual, June 24, 2021.

Impact/Purpose:

The primary reason for the presentation is to engage Water Quality Exchange (WQX) contributors so that data in the WQX will be accurate. To that end, the presentation shows how the WQX data is an integral part of the soon to be publicly released U.S. EPA Freshwater Explorer. EPA's Freshwater Explorer is a new interactive web-based tool that provides water quality information to help federal, state, tribal and local partners make decisions about freshwater resources. The tool provides information on the status of water resources for networks of streams in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Freshwater Explorer's interactive web-based mapping tool allows users to quickly access and visualize predicted background salt and mineral levels for approximately 2.65 million stream segments of a few kilometers each. The tool includes summary statistics for observed salinity and mineral levels for approximately 289,000 stream locations, 10,000 lakes and 50,000 wells. The primary audience are federal, state, tribe, and local agencies concerned with water quality and non-governmental organizations concerned with water quality, and for this presentation primarily those that contribute to the WQX.

Description:

U.S. EPA’s Freshwater Explorer (https://arcg.is/KHb9S) is an interactive web-based mapping tool that provides color-coded information about background and observed salt and mineral content for freshwater streams, lakes, and wells in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The tool uses data stored in EPA’s Water Quality Portal (https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/water-quality-portal-data-discovery-tool) but makes those data more accessible and intuitive to use. The Freshwater Explorer curates and summarizes the Portal’s hundreds of millions of water quality data records from more than 500 federal, state, tribal and other partners. The Freshwater Explorer tool was developed to help users better visualize these datasets. Other parameters (e.g., phosphorus) will be added to the tool later.  Freshwater Explorer allows users to perform geographical searches and provides information useful for states and communities seeking information about the water quality status of their freshwater resources. Short explanations in the tool describe how the maps and water quality values are estimated and direct users to published papers and datasets.  Freshwater is essential for drinking, agriculture, industry, and aquatic life. Freshwater differs from marine water by the amounts of dissolved ions (e.g., phosphate, nitrate, sodium, chloride) in the water. Increases in mineral or nutrient levels sometimes indicate a source of pollution in freshwater systems. Higher levels of minerals in the water can cause harmful algal blooms and affect aquatic wildlife. These conditions can increase costs for making water suitable for drinking, agricultural and industrial processes, and water reuse.

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